Arsenal’s under-18s ran out 3-2 winners over Chelsea’s under-18s on Tuesday afternoon.
Goals from Louis Zecevic-John, Josh Ogunnaike and an own goal from Olutayo Subuloye negated a brace from Chizaram Ezenwata for the Blues.
The result sees the North London outfit climb to seventh in the under-18 Premier League, moving to within just six points of the top four.
The Arsenal under-18s were beaten 6-4 by Tottenham last week, and thus, bouncing back against West London rivals will have been a huge boost for Adam Birchall’s side.
Adam Birchall reveals Per Mertesacker inspired Arsenal under-18s victory
It’s been a disappointing few weeks for the Arsenal under-18s, who have endured a slightly underwhelming campaign generally.
Max Dowman wowed fans in the FA Youth Cup clash against Manchester United two weeks ago, although the 15-year-old’s performance was the shining light in a frustrating evening for Birchall’s side.
A North London Derby defeat last week compounded the misery, and three consecutive defeats to rivals team would’ve been hugely damaging to the morale of the Arsenal youngsters.
However, they responded with an impressive victory away at Chelsea on Tuesday afternoon.
Speaking about the win after the game, Birchall revealed that he’d had a meeting with Arsenal academy manager and former player Per Mertesacker this week, who helped inspire the triumph.
“That wasn’t like us last week,” the Arsenal under-18s coach said.
“I think we had a meeting yesterday where Per was involved in it and Per gave us some real inspirational words and some real good feedback and he was in our thoughts a lot today heading into this game.
“So, super pleased with the personality the lads showed and absolutely, we spoke about that.
“We spoke about how that wasn’t us last week and how that doesn’t define us last week, but how we bounce back this week or this game will really define us. So, we wanted to do that today.”
Mertesacker has been praised for his work in the academy, helping to produce the likes of Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly, and it’s clear based on Birchall’s comments that he has the charisma to fulfil his role expertly.
Max Dowman impresses again for the Arsenal under-18s
Dowman captained the side against Chelsea, despite being the youngster player in Arsenal’s starting eleven.
This is another sign of his progression toward the first team, and he delivered another performance that will catch the eyes of the Arsenal faithful online.
Arsenal youth expert Jeorge Bird wrote on X that ‘Dowman relished the extra responsibility of being captain’, whilst stating that the youngster ‘certainly seems to have mastered most aspects of U18 level’.
Indeed, the starlet was at the heart of everything Arsenal did offensively, driving forward and nutmegging a Chelsea player in the build-up to Ogunnaike’s strike.
He was unlucky not to score himself, curling a spectacular free-kick just wide of the post in the second half.
With Mikel Arteta looking for a Martin Odegaard alternative, Dowman has surely got to be pushing for senior minutes next season.
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